This month, Star Trek fan film writer, director and actor Steve Hammond took the time to chat with Sci Fi Studios Magazine's Chris McQuillan about his latest project: Star Trek: Intrepid, as well as some projects he's got planned for the future.

Completely filmed in Scotland, Star Trek: Intrepid is a live-action fan film series set in the post-Star Trek: Nemesis era. It was created by a Dundee-based group of Trekkies after meeting regularly for some time. Steve Hammond explains the details: "We had a group who met regularly to watch Trek videos, and over the space of a few years attendance steadily fell until there was just the core group left and it became a loss-making proposition to keep renting the hall."

However, their fortunes took a turn for the better after the concept of Star Trek: Intrepid beamed into the mind of one of the group. "Our Star Trek group was one where everything seemed to fall into place, but most of the original core team has known each other for many years. Nick and I first met at Dundee Institute of Technology some 15 years ago, and even then we would often talk about how great it would be to remake this or that TV show. Nick kicked the whole thing off, having been inspired by [Star Trek] Exeter, and I turned up slightly later having seen Troops. It all just seemed like the right thing to do, and since I had a new video camera I volunteered my services. Afterwards Nick began putting a script together and I started making little test clips to see if we could key in someone against a bridge. That's where I date the start of Intrepid from: The first test clip is dated August 21, 2002."
With fans champing at the bit to find out the progress of "Heavy Lies The Crown", the first episode of Star Trek: Intrepid, I asked Steve for an update. "We're down to a series of CG shots, cleaning up the visuals and doing the sound mix," he reports happily. "I've got a spreadsheet which is now covered in green boxes showing all the items that are now complete and it's a great feeling to see that! I can hardly believe that there's actually an end in sight. Most of the stuff that's left to do is things that can simply be dropped into the edit. No more creative decisions are needed!"

But I was curious to find out what actually drives someone to put all the effort into making a huge project like Star Trek: Intrepid. It is, after all, a huge financial investment; not to mention being extremely time consuming. "Our goals have changed a lot since we started. In the beginning, the thought of making a Trek episode was a fun way of keeping our group together. It actually wasn't a big financial investment to begin with, although the amount of money being spent soon became quite large. Taking so long to complete the first episode—it's been four and a half years now—actually worked in our favor in that regard, since the money was spread over those years. To be fair, most of what I've spent is actually on stuff that'll get used over and over, such as software. What drives me, personally, are the ideas and seeing just how much I'm capable of doing."

Four years down the road, I wondered if there was anything Steve would look back on and do differently. Does he regret starting at all? "The thought of not having done it at all has never occurred to me. Really, when it comes down to it, I can hardly even remember when I wasn't doing this during my weeknights and weekends. It's just so much part of my life that I don't think about it. I wish I'd figured out a good workflow to begin with, but that's the sort of thing that can only come with experience."

With Trek fan films on the other side of the Atlantic being graced with the presence of Trek alumni such as Garrett Wang, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig, would Steve like to see Intrepid boast some Trek stars in the future? "Whilst I'd obviously be delighted to work with recognized actors," he says, "it really isn't the point. Although having said that, we do have a cameo from a well-known TV presenter! I think I'd probably feel intimidated if it were to happen! If we had the chance,  sure—but it's not something we'd actively pursue."

The Star Trek fan film is certainly a wide genre. Many groups have set out to make their own shows set in the Trek universe, yet Intrepid seems to have inspired a lot of media attention, especially in the United Kingdom. "It's all thanks to the New York Times," explains Steve. "A front page(!) article about fan films just happened to mention us in passing. Not only that, but they gave our web address, and since I guess all the media outlets here read the New York Times, there was a sudden flurry of interest. The amazing thing is that we've never actually sought out any publicity; it all came to us. I have to admit that the timing couldn't have been better, since three days after we suddenly noticed a lot of extra web traffic. (And members mysteriously saying things like, "Congratulations, you've arrived.") It is in the United Kingdom where Intrepid seems to have garnered most of its public interest. "One of the odder things about the coverage in the UK," says Steve, "was being consistently called a Star Trek 'tribute' film rather than a fan film. As far as the British media is concerned, we're special because we're a Star Trek tribute film; nothing more or less than that. The notion of fan films is a fairly new one for the mainstream media here, and 'tribute' was the nearest reference point they had. I'm under no illusions that we were much more than a novelty to them! Well, maybe one or two illusions! There's also a kind of cascade where a newspaper picks up the story, then another paper picks the story from that paper, and then a TV station catches on—kind of like a chain reaction, in a way. In fact, the German station ZDF told us that they only became interested because of the photos in the Guardian newspaper of David Reid (our half-Romulan) holding an iron in his hand.

"However, Intrepid also benefited from Star Trek being in the air last year. The forthcoming Christies auction of Trek memorabilia was being displayed in London the following month, and of course Enterprise had recently concluded, which was a mainstream news item in itself. Trek was pretty much in the air that year and, hey!—they now had a local angle! Of course, on one of the TV segments, we were shown right before a guy who'd reenacted bits of the original series using his pet dogs, so the tone wasn't entirely reverential!"

What about the casting process on a fan film—how does it work? Are there auditions? Are roles granted to family and friends? "Well, there wasn't any casting process as such, at least to begin with. Really the whole thing arose out of us wanting to have fun making a movie and what's the point of doing that if we weren't going to be in it? Of course as time went on and we got more serious, we started looking around for others who might have wanted to have been involved. Funny thing is that I actually spoke to a few women at my work way back at the start. They were keen to be part of a movie. Then I would admit that it was sci-fi and they'd dither. Then I'd come clean and say that it's Star Trek and suddenly they were washing their hair that year! Oddly enough people are more interested in being involved now that we're fairly well known. For the next few short Intrepid movies, Nick's put out a casting call or two online. So it's all changed."

Many fan films hold a negative stereotype of wooden acting, poor effects, and low production values. I was curious to find out if the cast and crew of the Intrepid made a conscious decision to try and reverse these images, and stand out ahead of other fan films. "To be honest there was never any intention of making this 'the best ever' or to compete with anyone else," states Steve. "We simply wanted to do the best we could. Possibly there was an element of playing at being professionals, but we did at least try to approach it as we imagined a 'real' film crew would. To that end I shot a tremendous amount of coverage; to get the 50 minutes of final episode I filmed over 30 hours' worth of material. Partly, it was a way to ensure that at least some of the takes were usable; and partly I assumed that filming that much was the done thing. What we found was that the acting improved with each take. I guess it was sheer persistence that saw us beyond looking comical, though of course since we haven't released yet the jury may still be out."

Steve also explained that his position on the production probably makes him extra-critical. "I'm so close to the film that I can see flaws that no one else can spot even after I point it out to them. In fact, I just remembered an early comment from a girl at work who I showed one of the early trailers; she took one glance and informed me, 'Oh, you all look normal!' If that isn't overcoming a negative stereotype, I don't know what is!"

So where does Steve Hammond and the rest of the crew want to go after "Heavy Lies The Crown" is finally completed? Steve has a few ideas. "We've a few short Intrepid movies in various states of production. We've filmed "Machinations" which Nick is editing at the moment, are going to shoot "Where There's a Sea" next month and have a script for a third one. I'm halfway through (well, a fraction of the way through) writing the next Intrepid full-length episode "Bit Patterns." We do have plans which don't involve Trek, however. We're hopefully going to be making a documentary this year about a famous Dundee landmark, for example. But what I'm most excited about at the moment are some tentative plans to create a pilot episode—and hopefully more—for a contemporary series set in Dundee and with some distinct SF overtones. Obviously I can't say too much since everything is still in flux at the moment." He does admit a love for one particular Scottish city. "I can't wait to shoot in Dundee. Some of the architecture is lovely and the location itself, next to a river, in the shadow of an extinct volcano... I think it could look great!"

As for anyone out there who's pondering starting their own fan films, Steve has a few words of advice. "Grab whatever gear you have lying around and start filming," he suggests. "Actually, more seriously, I would advise focusing on the script to the exclusion of everything else for at least a year. We get a lot of people wanting to make their own film and usually it turns out that they have an idea and nothing else, or are trying to write an entire series. But in all honesty, it just depends what you want to do. If you're happy having a laugh with a video camera, go for it. If you're serious about it, then prepare for a lot of hard work, long hours, setbacks and disappointments. The end result, though, will make you deliriously happy!"

Star Trek: Intrepid was released on May 26. Sci Fi Studios Magazine would like to wish Steve Hammond and everyone else involved in the production the best of luck. Personally, I'd like to thank Steve for taking the time to talk with us—it was a pleasure. Good luck in all your future projects!